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4.0 out of 5 starsSecond thoughts on the second season of SWAMP THING...a great Shout! Factory DVD release carries on with the show!

20 March 2017 - Published on Amazon.com

Format: DVD|Verified Purchase

One of the more interesting series to come out during the heyday of the USA television network, SWAMP THING: THE SERIES is not for all tastes but will undoubtedly appeal to those who want something more unusual to look at, especially in this day and age in which everything comic book related seems to emerge as a visual effects fest from the most creatively deprived corners of Hollywood. While my initial reaction to these second box of episodes was a bit lukewarm (I recall that I once referred to the show as "cruel"), in hindsight I can now appropriately look at it for its entertainment value, and in truth the series is pretty entertaining even while it nearly prompts you to shout the word "absurd" over and over throughout its progression. Well, the show is actually absurd in places--characters drop in and drop out like sorority students, the pacing is quick in some episodes and quite slow in others, the actual monster itself (whom most people expect to see if they purchase this set) is seen only sporadically throughout each episode and therefore the series begins to feel more "swamp opera-ish" than action/adventure spectacle. But this show had many things going for it really, including the great rustic soundtrack (with music by Christopher L. Stone) to the unusually good makeup effects done for the show's many creatures. Now, while the product listing might tell you that this series has been finally released in its "proper chronological order," an astute viewer can tell right off the bat that the narrative sequence of these episodes is not actually in order (see the Wikipedia listing for the episodes in this series if you want to sit down and watch each episode in the official order of their air dates).SWAMP THING: THE SERIES, VOLUME 2 allegedly picks up after the episode entitled "The Shipment" (which we saw was the last episode in the first box set) and thrusts us even further into a narrative arch that seems to make increasingly less sense as the series goes on. Most frustratingly, the beautiful and vivacious Carrell Myers (oh how I would have made love to that woman!) is credited mostly as a "guest star" in the few episodes that she's in, and in general the series seems to constantly veer off into its own direction by trying to contain these little individual short stories in each episode that are not truly related to the main story arc (from season one and the first half of season two) at all. Also, the attractive Kari Wuhrer appears in a couple of episodes but not thereafter, making us sad to see yet another familiar (and pretty) face go. And yet the familiars are not the only ones whom we see less of here; in fact, guest stars on the show seem to appear for one episode and then fall out as if the all of the world's problems can be solved in a simple span of twenty-two minutes! And this problem points out one of the great failings of this program, which is to say that it actually wants to be great drama overall but is still stuck in the world of comic book/unrealistic situations, and watching the show is a little like seeing the people in the writing room sit and around and scratching their heads about what is to be done."Night of the Dying," while probably too frightening for children, is a fairly good action-oriented episode in which Anton Arcane gets his hands on a book of black magic and finds himself coming under a dark voodoo curse which turns out to be not as random as it seems. And with this episode it is established right off the bat that the show is not really playing for a younger audience now but has instead chosen to go the route of darker supernatural horror, something that the Alan Moore-written comic books of the time were busy developing in the print universe (I have never been a fan of Moore's work and, in my humble opinion, his efforts destroyed the purity of the Swamp Thing character). "Love Lost" follows a mysterious woman (who happens to have psychic abilities) who comes to the town of Houma (you'll hear the name of the town mentioned a lot in this box set) as she visits the Kipp family with a particularly important message for Tressa (even her name is sexy). "Mist Demeanor" follows the cue of John Carpenter's THE FOG in its monster movie trope of a blanket of mysterious clouds rolling in through the town (but the outcome is not what anyone would expect). This episode was particularly troubling due to the fate of Will Kipp's pickup truck. "A Nightmare on Jackson Street" features a nightmarish look at Will's somewhat criminal past, and what happens when his black friend is attacked during a stupid late night robbery scenario (Will's friend is black only for politically correct reasons, but the episode is an effective one nonetheless). "Better Angels" introduces the character of Dr. Ann Fisk, a researcher and former student of Alec Holland's whose sojourn into the belly of the swamp hooks her up with a mysterious voice that might be from a man she used to idolize. "Children of the Fool" is Wolfman Jack's shining moment, as he plays a demented carny who wants to keep his "children" mind-controlled in order that they will stay with him and help him to build his own wealth by exploiting people at the carnival (insert laughter here). The hilarious episode "A Jury of His Fears" features the dastardly Anton getting his own imagination's worth of punishment as he is forced to sit through a parody-oriented trial that resembles a life-review (in Eastern terms) after death, but the episode is especially great because we get to see the lovely Carrell back on screen (the scene where she's doing her toenails on top of the jury box wearing only an angelic white judge's robe is just too hot for words, and when you see those legs you'll know why!). This episode, while definitely amusing, is a signpost for decoding which direction that the show is going in, and by this point the series seems to be a little, well, off the rails (so to speak). A great episode entitled "Poisonous" is not only more brightly lighted (which gives the show a more polished look visually) but it also features noted television actor David Ackroyd in a quality turn as a ruthless naturalist and TV host who thinks that he can bend the swamp to his own will by implanting poisonous frogs, but Swampy and Will turn the tables on the man. The episode "Smoke and Mirrors" thus begins SWAMP THING's morally upright position for a network TV show, acting more along the lines of Public Service announcements (or, to be more accurate, warnings) rather than fully written episodes that carry on the initial story arc (also, the writer Tom Blomquist begins to take over the dictation and grammar of the scripts from this point on, making you wander just why the show didn't attempt to seek out some worthy short stories in sf/horror magazines for adaptation rather than trying to create fresh morality plays that often end up feeling quite past their 'use by' date in effect). Adam Curry stars as a heavy metal rock musician named Nathan Stone, whose grotesque lifestyle and mentally deranged lyrics have allegedly caused the deaths of two of his most devoted fans (but will these two deceased boys come back to haunt him?). Considering the controversy over explicit lyrics on music albums that was raging in this country throughout the Reagan era, it's easy to see why such episodes as "Smoke and Mirrors" came to be. And while I agree with the moral concerns raised by the episode (since I have never even been a fan of modern music in general) I can't say that this show holds up very well in the years since its debut. And besides, they have made Swamp Thing into the moral policeman of the swamp, which might be in line with the fatherly goals of the original DC Comics magazines but doesn't quite work for a show in which we've been led by the nose to think that the narrative is going somewhere else. After this odd interruption of an episode, we land in a hilariously titled show entitled "This Old House of Mayan," in which Will and Swampy (obviously the Batman and Robin of this series) attempt to thwart the efforts of some original (that's right, original) Mayans who have come back across the ocean of time to see to it that their land and its secrets (out there in the swamp lands, you guessed it) is not messed with by some baddies who take Will's swamp tour with unruly intentions in mind. As a buried treasure and ghostly guardians tale, this one isn't bad, which you can let go of your stomach after laughing hysterically at that all too creative title. The none too memorable episode "Sonata" follows this last entry, and other than a romantic interplay between Holland and Ann Fisk there isn't much memorable about it, even with Anton's life being jeopardized by two enraged brothers out for revenge."Dead and Married" proves that Houma is not as racially divided as we might have at first expected, featuring a black couple who find their car derailed in the swamp and have to talk to Swamp Thing in order to figure out how to get out of this mess. Again, this episode does not go in the direction that it should, meaning that we are further taken away from the narrative trajectory offered in the first box set, and (as usual) it's all nicely wrapped up in a matter of twenty-two minutes (while most of us can't get our lives straightened out in thirty years, much less in a matter of minutes)."Powers of Darkness" is yet another episode that hints around at solving teen problems (obviously USA had by this time gauged the demographic of who was actually tuning in to watch this program), with a strange young man (supposedly a friend of Will Kipp's--in fact, Will has many "friends" who seem to enter and leave his life at random, and with whom he seems to have no further contact with, or even memory of, thereafter). Jeremy Licht plays the young man with vampiric impulses, which we are led to believe may be somewhat truthful (after an encounter with a mysterious woman at the docks which reminds us of the NIGHT GALLERY episode "Death on a Barge") but ultimately turns out to be something far more insidious than yet another swamp legend fantasy. "Special Request" (which doesn't quite remind us of a NIGHT GALLERY episode entitled "The Flip Side of Satan") is notable because it has a licensed cover version of "Midnight Confessions" (originally recorded by the 60's rock band The Grass Roots) on the soundtrack. Tressa (my lovely favorite) appears in this episode again, leading us back to the main story arc (or so we thought) before the writers run out of their schizophrenia medication once again. This one is the somewhat convoluted story of a lost love of Tressa's from her early hippie oriented days (oh God) in which she fell in love with one of those handsome disc jockeys (insert giggle here) who may or may not have been murdered. Now while I simply would not even think to question Tressa's orientation, her relationships with men over the course of this series look to be either sporadic or even hostile, making me wonder why she has such a hard time getting back into a relationship with someone (it's certainly not for a lack of looks). But I digress. Alright pardner, saddle up for the episode "What Goes Around, Comes Around," which features the sheriff of Houma getting his butt revenged upon by the illusion-dealing Swamp Thing after the corrupt dude (played most amiably by Marc Macaulay) allows Dr. Arcane to hunt down an escaped patient-to-be in order to experiment on the bum. But this episode is most interesting because of yet another sexy turn by Carrell, playing a Miss Kitty-type in a saloon setting in which she is shown in a ravishing Old West mythology-based get up (just watch the episode and you'll see). "Fear Itself" features the demonic Mephisto (a variation upon Old Scratch, played here by the Satanic looking Jacob Witkin) taunting Swamp Thing after the creature screws up and allows his own fear to turn the swamp against him and even call down the wrath of the Witkin character. This episode is par for course, wrapping things up in much too simple (and quick) a fashion. The episode "Changes" is a shocker because we actually see Swamp Thing turn back into Alec Holland (don't worry, this isn't really a spoiler) due to the scientific tinkering of the sweet Dr. Fisk, but things don't go quite as planned. While the writers make an effort to recapture some of the early poignancy found in the first box in this particular episode, it is (again) wrapped up much too quickly to really register and by the end of the episode we really don't know whether to cry or go blind. Not that there's any time to stew over it, because the next episode, entitled "Destiny," once again shows the series' writers to be off their medication, following a new story entirely about a couple of American Civil War ghosts who happen to wander into a time warp near (you guessed it) the town of Houma. Naturally, Will gets involved. This episode is, in general, unremarkable due to the then fashionable blending of Civil War era tropes with modern horror movie storytelling that was being displayed on both television and at the movies at the time, but it is quite poignant because it ends with Will reading a voiceover narration about how one of the ghostly soldiers defended his ground and won a victory for the Confederacy (while I thought it was nice to see the Confederacy portrayed in a positive light for a change, one suspects that the producers only let this little speech go on the air because the show is, after all, set in the South, or at least close enough to the South to count). By the next episode, entitled "Tatania," we nearly come to believe that the show's writers have all but lost their minds, as we watch the unfolding of an unusually (and unnecessarily) complicated take on Anton Arcane's true love (played here by the once radiant Heather Thomas) who turns out to be a different woman entirely! Oh boy. Not only is this episode morally confusing (I believe that Arcane is a true Reptilian at heart, but this is the only episode in which you see him weep or exhibit any kind of genuine human feelings) but the authors of the show (the script is only credited to one Randy Holland, no relation to Alec) have missed the opportunity to explore a more complex doppelganger theme by refusing to mirror the loss-of-true-love scenarios that surround both Holland and Arcane in their personal lives. "Mirador's Brain," another off the rail entry (credited to writer Bruce Lansbury), finds Arcane trying to transfer the knowledge from his now deceased mentor's mind into his own (and who else but the Reptilian Arcane could think of such a diabolical strategy?) but without much success. Will meets a young lass named Dana (played by the beautiful Jill Whitlow) but don't get your, er, hopes up--this is another whirlwind romance that is over as quickly as it begins (sorry 'bout the spoiler). "Easy Prey" finds a hunter and his son venturing into the swamp to bring back an endangered hawk, but this does not sit well with the Batman and Robin of the swamp, who promptly begin to use the uneasy relationship between the father and son to work things towards the direction of good instead of evil. Will is, ahem, "taken in" by the swamp in this episode (a metaphysical trope that is never quite explained, but remember, there's no time!), which ultimately helps Swamp Thing administer another swift round of muck-encrusted justice. The actor Lou Bedford initially looked like David Ackroyd to me, leading me to believe that this episode would be a follow-up to the "Poisonous" narrative (I was wrong), but it turns out to be another original tale which, you guessed it, veers off of the narrative trajectory once again. "The Handyman" is not the most memorable of episodes, but there is some good action in it, with a pistol toting Arcane headlining the show's climax in an amusing act of revenge that also feels satisfying for Swamp Thing as well. "The Chains of Forever" (credited to Randy Holland, again) is an episode that attempts to get back to the poetry of some the earlier entries by giving us a fresh spin on the Fountain of Youth formula (pun intended) in which a married couple discover that true love is the actual secret to a long and youthful life, but it quickly derails into a suspense yarn instead of going for the jugular of more poignant dramatic framing. "An Eye for an Eye" is a particularly memorable (and natural horror themed) episode in which the jungle sets loose an enraged panther to deal with the diabolically dabbling Dr. Arcane once and for all--but you might be able to guess who is out to hold the animal back, in a truly morally upright fashion (even if Swamp Thing's moral initiatives get a little tiring for the retribution-starved viewer). Jeff Myrow provides the script for this little shocker, and the result is okay. "Swamp of Dreams" actually returns to the PSA initiative script wise (this time written by Randy Holland, again!) in which Swamp Thing is chillin' out with his back against the bark, dropping some disgustingly bloody-looking eggs and imagining himself existing within a dark, sexually frustrated, self-inflicted mind coma in which he can physically pursue the ambitious and lovely Dr. Fisk (played again by Janet Julian) while in a hallucinatory state. Holland is played here by Patrick Neal Quinn, who took over the role from a different actor who appeared in one of the first season's episodes in a flashback sequence, supposedly because some executive thought Quinn was a rising star over at Universal. This episode might have had some touching elements to it, but as is it really only functions as a warning to youngins not to fool with those devil's darts known as illegal substances. Again, while I personally agree with the message most strongly, I fail to see what any of this moralizing has to do with the main narrative arc. Now again, these episodes are out of order on this newly edited DVD set and, while I believe that the picture and sound transfers are quite good, none of the shows make for easy viewing if you have been taken into the storytelling that was so alive on the first box set. But on their own, each episode is quite entertaining in itself, and Swamp Thing fans don't have much choice if they want to see some TV or movie translations of their favorite DC hero. My fear is that if "they" try to make a new Swamp Thing movie today that they will inevitably return to the more fashionable atrocity that was Moore's "reinventing" of the Swamp Thing character back in the mid-80's, rather than returning to the fun (if old style) comics that Bernie Wrightson and Len Wein initially created, or even to the more human-based episodic structure of this series which, if not great, is at least a lot more fun than most of what is being shown on television today (and maybe even back then). Audiences are not only more demanding and far too picky nowadays but they are also loosing their grip on reality a bit more with each passing day. Your own political and personal constitution, in fact, will inevitably dictate how you come to view and appreciate this particular series.You might be surprised to learn that this show's executive producers (Michael Uslan and Benjamin Melniker) acquired the rights to the Swamp Thing property from DC Comics for no money, and that they initially set up two movies (both of which, ironically, got produced, albeit seven years apart) before licensing the rights to the character for television. Now my suspicion is that Mister Uslan did not work much on the development of this particular series (since he probably only sold the rights under his and Melniker's Batfilm Productions banner), seeing as to how Joseph Stefano was given a bag of tricks and asked to make them dance to his own tune. For my taste, Stefano's "bible" for the series is most interesting, if not a revelation, and my hope is that television historians will come to reassess this show in a new light, especially after the phenomenal rise in popularity of our country's most treasured comic strip and comic book creations in the 20th century's popular culture. While it is blatantly obvious that Stefano wanted to humanize the series further and that he really didn't know what to do with Swamp Thing as a superhero/action-oriented avenger in a television show, I thank my lucky stars that they didn't ask any other creator to craft a working text for the series (a la anyone under the spell of Alan Moore) because what we wound up with here is actually pretty unique stuff. As for Mister Uslan, the release of the 1989 BATMAN movie (ultimately directed by Tim Burton, back in his bean field hand days) should have made him a multi-millionaire overnight, seeing as to how the picture instigated a remarkable marketing phenomenon that was (essentially) based upon Uslan's ideas for the film (and his confidence in the Batman character) alone, but such was not to be. In fact, he and Melniker wound up in a court battle (in a suit involving an astonishingly low sum of four million big ones) over the 1989 Batman property, which only ended up making the two initial producers a sum near the lower hundreds of thousands. And so Mister Uslan went back to television while searching for other movie deals, and SWAMP THING: THE SERIES came about due to the enormous success of the 1989 Tim Burton Batman flick. Don't kid yourself, because there's no way this series would have been greenlighted otherwise. Unfortunately, the program's ratings dipped early, and the series never really recovered. While there are obvious problems with the show, it does offer some enjoyment for the less discriminate comic book fans amongst you. And just basing it upon its merits as a unique early 90's era TV show, I have to boost it a star just for the nostalgia value alone. The Alec Holland/Swamp Thing character is a tragic figure, and writers for television (or even other media) could have a dramatic field day exploring the compromising situation that his character is caught up in. The swamp might be Holland's world, but now it is ours on these terrific new Shout! Factory DVD releases (which, sadly, arrived without any additional interviews or extras). Enjoy, if you can. B+

Good storytelling; the episodes never fail to entertain and the atmosphere has a Gothic feel to it, although slightly campy at times, somewhat like the old "Dark Shadows". Plotline continuity does suffer sometimes in my opinion; I was particularly disappointed that they killed off the beautiful "Abigail" character played by Kari Wuhrer for no apparent good reason.

Speaking of Abby, it seems rather unfortunate at first glance that the Swamp Thing is not provided the same love interest as the Abigail of the DC comic series or the feature films (in the second one she was played by Heather Locklear!) thus helping him forget his sorrows over losing his first wife and being half man and half plant, torn between the two identities and with no apparent way to ease his tortured mind. For much of this installment of episodes, he just can't really seem to get a break! Wait, stop the press -- he does eventually manage to develop a relationship with a lovely and intelligent woman who cares for him and wants to help him regain his humanity. So perhaps, in the end, he truly gets to experience the best of both worlds!

Although it has its shortcomings, for fans of the DC series as well as lovers of weird stories, this series is an interesting adaptation of the DC Comics saga and certainly worth a look.

I didn't know there was a tv series. After watching this series, I only wish the seties was done with the special effects they have now. I think it would be better than before. At that time when there weren't any special effects, the series was bland. It didn't hold my attention. But for that year, U gave it a 5 star review.

Vol.2 was good too, although sometimes I guess I'm a little too liberal with my reviews, oh well. Some episodes (once again) are better than others. The one where Dr.Arcane faces his demons in court was pretty funny, with Tressa Kipp as the judge. I do agree with another reviewer about storyline continuence and tying up loose ends, but even if they don't in Vol.3, I'm still happy to have finally seen the series in its entirety. We'll see what happens.